Three Canadian Satellites Deploy on Transporter-18
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched three Canadian satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base yesterday, delivering two methane monitors for Montreal’s GHGSat and the first satellite built by Markham’s NordSpace.
The rocket lifted off at 11:32 a.m. Pacific time, 14 minutes into a window that opened at 11:18. Its first stage landed back at Vandenberg. The upper stage began releasing the flight’s 130 payloads about 54 minutes after liftoff.
GHGSat’s satellites C-18 and C-19, named Eleanor and Aidan for the children of company employees, join C-16 and C-17, which deployed on Transporter-17 in July. SFL Missions built both in Toronto on its NEMO platform, a satellite bus of about 15 kilograms.
“Methane might be invisible to the naked eye, but its reduction has tangible impacts for the planet,” chief executive Stéphane Germain said in the company’s announcement.
NordSpace flew Terra Nova, its first satellite, built at its Space Systems Lab in Markham, Ont., as a demonstrator for defence and commercial uses. SpaceX’s deployment timeline had it separating about four minutes after the GHGSat pair, manifested by Exolaunch, the Berlin company that prepares and deploys satellites for rideshare customers. NordSpace streamed the launch live and its team was seen shaking hands, but the company had not yet posted confirmation of contact with Terra Nova.
Calian Opens Northstar Defence Lab at Area X.O
Calian Group and Invest Ottawa announced Tuesday the Northstar Defence Lab at the Area X.O research complex, the first lab in Calian’s planned national network of regional defence facilities.
Calian will build and operate the lab, running it on ATHORA, the interoperability platform it announced in May. Invest Ottawa, which founded and runs Area X.O, also uses the Greenbelt site as a test centre for NATO’s DIANA accelerator for turning commercial technology into military use.
The release says founding ecosystem partners include ADGA, Anvil, Cohere, Evertz Microsystems, Larus, TACTIQL, Tessellate Robotics and 123 Cyber. Export Development Canada takes part as an industry commercialization partner.
The lab is part of the initiative Calian announced Jan. 26 to mobilize an initial $100 million for sovereign C5ISRT capabilities — command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting. The release does not say how much of the $100 million has been committed or what the lab costs. Chief executive Patrick Houston told the Globe and Mail the labs target a familiar problem: the Armed Forces often like a company’s technology but struggle to buy it because it does not work with what they already run.
Provider: SpaceX Date: October 5, 2026 Time: 8:17 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
Tranche 1 Transport Layer A is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, which will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms from Low Earth Orbit satellites.
The constellation will be interconnected with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) which have significantly increased performance over existing radio frequency crosslinks. It is expected to operate over Ka band, have stereo coverage and be dynamically networked for simpler hand-offs, greater bandwidth and fault tolerance.
This launch carries 21 satellites manufactured by Northrop Grumman.
NeonSat-2 to 6
Provider: Korea Aerospace Research Institute Date: October 7, 2026 Time: 3:23 AM UTC Vehicle: Nuri
NeonSat-2 to 6 are part of the South Korean government’s Earth observation micro-satellite constellation NeonSat (New-space Earth Observation Satellite). The NeonSat constellation is the first satellite system developed by the government using a mass-production approach for precise monitoring of the Korean Peninsula.
Unknown Payload
Provider: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Date: October 9, 2026 Time: 7:25 PM UTC Vehicle: Long March 12
Details TBD.
Starlink Group 15-25
Provider: SpaceX Date: October 10, 2026 Time: 11:00 PM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.
Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35
Provider: SpaceX Date: October 13, 2026 Time: 10:33 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
35th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA.
Cargo Dragon 2 brings supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support science and research investigations that occur onboard the orbiting laboratory.
SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A ×
Mission Details
TypeGovernment/Top Secret
OrbitPolar Orbit
TargetEarth
Tranche 1 Transport Layer A is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, which will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms from Low Earth Orbit satellites.
The constellation will be interconnected with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) which have significantly increased performance over existing radio frequency crosslinks. It is expected to operate over Ka band, have stereo coverage and be dynamically networked for simpler hand-offs, greater bandwidth and fault tolerance.
This launch carries 21 satellites manufactured by Northrop Grumman.
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
The Falcon 9 first stage B1103 will land on Landing Zone 4 after its 6th flight.
NeonSat-2 to 6 ×
Mission Details
TypeEarth Science
OrbitSun-Synchronous Orbit
TargetEarth
NeonSat-2 to 6 are part of the South Korean government’s Earth observation micro-satellite constellation NeonSat (New-space Earth Observation Satellite). The NeonSat constellation is the first satellite system developed by the government using a mass-production approach for precise monitoring of the Korean Peninsula.
Launch Provider: Korea Aerospace Research Institute
The Long March 12 carrier rocket is a Chinese medium-lift launch vehicle currently under development by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, using kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellant. It will be capable of placing at least 10 tonnes of payload in low Earth orbit and at least 6…
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
The Falcon 9 first stage B1088 will land on ASDS OCISLY after its 20th flight.
Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35 ×
Mission Details
TypeResupply
OrbitLow Earth Orbit
TargetEarth
35th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA.
Cargo Dragon 2 brings supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support science and research investigations that occur onboard the orbiting laboratory.
Agencies Involved
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Government)
Program: Commercial Resupply Services
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station.The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve cargo Dragon and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The Falcon 9 and Antares rockets were also developed under the CRS program to deliver cargo spacecraft to the ISS.
The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the sixteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and utilization, and responsibilities for crew rotation and resupply of the International Space Station. It was conceived in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, during the Space Station Freedom project as it was originally called.
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
The Falcon 9 first stage will land back at the launch site after its flight.
Spacecraft: Cargo Dragon C211
Third Cargo Dragon 2
Specifications
SerialC211
TypeCapsule
StatusActive
DestinationISS
Height7.2 m
Diameter3.7 m
Maiden Flight2020-12-06
Payload Capacity6,000 kg
Return Capacity3,000 kg
Time in Space275 Days, 8 Hours, 1 Minute
Missions Flown3
Turnaround228 Days, 2 Hours, 49 Minutes
Fastest Turnaround245 Days, 16 Hours, 16 Minutes
History
Cargo Dragon 2 is an updated version of the original Dragon spaceship designed to service the International Space Station with first flights conducted in 2020.
In contrast to Dragon 1 it docks to the International Space Station instead of being berthed by the Canada Arm.
Capability
Cargo Earth Orbit Logistics
Details
Cargo Dragon 2 is a autonomous spaceship capable of bringing science to and from the International Space Station with large pressurized and un-pressurized sections to support a variety of missions.
Flight Life
Able to fly for up to one week of free flight or two years docked.
Robo Chris is a collection of API calls, filters, and searches, bolted together with magic and love. He performs instructed information gathering on Canadian aerospace news ,daily broadcasts, weekly NASA and SpaceX reports, and monthly deep-dives on Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, the Canadian space industry, and the broader commercial spaceflight sector AND does a fair bit of writing too. Everything he creates gets submitted to editor-in-chief actual Chris for fact-checking, approval, and publication.
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